Log in
Log in

or

Thread EQing vocals...

  • 3 replies
  • 3 participants
  • 1,096 views
  • 3 followers
purplerain

purplerain

2 posts
New AFfiliate
First post
1 Posted on 12/18/2014 at 08:37:58
When I started learning EQ not too long ago, I decided that, for me, the best way is to increase the Q and gain all the way and go through frequencies, noting the ranges that produce the most unpleasant sounds...

I've found this technique helped me as a newb, and have read about others using it, but I'm curious to see if it's a good idea for EQ or if some other approach should be pursued for vox tracks? If so, why?
Mike Levine

Mike Levine

1066 posts
Author
2 Posted on 12/18/2014 at 09:03:02
For one thing, make sure you're not EQing them without the context of the rest of the tracks. As the author of our Mixing series pointed out in the the most recent installment (https://en.audiofanzine.com/recording-mixing/editorial/articles/the-eqing-primer.html), EQ decisions made only from listening in solo are usually not as good as those made with the other tracks also playing. Other than that, I don't see anything wrong with your method, as long as its working for you. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you can pretty closely distinguish the particular frequencies are that you're hearing, and you'll be able to zero in on the unpleasant ones without having to go through as much listening as you're doing now. But it's certainly not unusual to boost at a particular frequency and then "sweep" it across the frequency band to zero in on a particular troublesome area.

Another thing you have to be very careful about with vocals, especially if you're boosting frequencies on them, is that you don't accentuate sibilance, which mainly occurs in the 4-10 kHz range. Of course, if your track is overly sibilant to start with, try using a de-esser on it.

One other point about vocal EQ: I find it helpful to use a high-pass filter (which allows audio to pass above a user specified frequency) to roll off the frequencies below the voice, to reduce the potential muddiness. I typically set the filter low, and then slowly bring it up while listening to its affect on the track, and when I get to the point where I'm cutting too much and the voice starts to thin out, I'll back it off. This is also useful to do on your other tracks. Read more about this subject here: https://en.audiofanzine.com/recording-mixing/editorial/articles/cut-the-mud-from-your-mix.html
quicksandmagic

quicksandmagic

5 posts
New AFfiliate
3 Posted on 12/19/2014 at 08:10:20
I always seem to get a very unpleasant, excessive boominess between 250-380Hz in my vocals. I always wondered whether that's normal in vocals, whether it's a problem in my mic setup, whether it's a problem with my mic, or whether it's an issue unique to my vocals...
Mike Levine

Mike Levine

1066 posts
Author
4 Posted on 12/19/2014 at 11:00:20
There's a lot of variables that could be at play. Mic type, mic placement and your microphone technique, and room acoustics. Have you recorded your voice in other studios? Does the same thing happen?
cookies
We are using cookies!

Yes, Audiofanzine is using cookies. Since the last thing that we want is disturbing your diet with too much fat or too much sugar, you'll be glad to learn that we made them ourselves with fresh, organic and fair ingredients, and with a perfect nutritional balance. What this means is that the data we store in them is used to enhance your use of our website as well as improve your user experience on our pages and show you personalised ads (learn more). To configure your cookie preferences, click here.

We did not wait for a law to make us respect our members and visitors' privacy. The cookies that we use are only meant to improve your experience on our website.

Our cookies
Cookies not subject to consent
These are cookies that guarantee the proper functioning of Audiofanzine and allow its optimization. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. Example: cookies that help you stay logged in from page to page or that help customizing your usage of the website (dark mode or filters).
Google Analytics
We are using Google Analytics in order to better understand the use that our visitors make of our website in an attempt to improve it.
Advertising
This information allows us to show you personalized advertisements thanks to which Audiofanzine is financed. By unchecking this box you will still have advertisements but they may be less interesting :) We are using Google Ad Manager to display part of our ads, or tools integrated to our own CMS for the rest. We are likely to display advertisements from our own platform, from Google Advertising Products or from Adform.

We did not wait for a law to make us respect our members and visitors' privacy. The cookies that we use are only meant to improve your experience on our website.

Our cookies
Cookies not subject to consent

These are cookies that guarantee the proper functioning of Audiofanzine. The website cannot function properly without these cookies. Examples: cookies that help you stay logged in from page to page or that help customizing your usage of the website (dark mode or filters).

Google Analytics

We are using Google Analytics in order to better understand the use that our visitors make of our website in an attempt to improve it. When this parameter is activated, no personal information is sent to Google and the IP addresses are anonymized.

Advertising

This information allows us to show you personalized advertisements thanks to which Audiofanzine is financed. By unchecking this box you will still have advertisements but they may be less interesting :) We are using Google Ad Manager to display part of our ads, or tools integrated to our own CMS for the rest. We are likely to display advertisements from our own platform, from Google Advertising Products or from Adform.


You can find more details on data protection in our privacy policy.
You can also find information about how Google uses personal data by following this link.